If that was on EI/IE-001 today, then we had a red TP-III to red TP-III QSO
Iāve been struggling to teach myself to use a paddle after a long break from amateur radio, but very happy with the TP-III. Itās much better than the 3d printed key I was trying to use. The sweets didnāt last long though!
I missed you on 40m as I was using a 20m dipole and when you tried that band you probably went over my head, so to speak. But perhaps it was better not to lower the CW tone with my cheapo 3D printed model!
More seriously it would be nice to try a magnetic key like that. Iāll have to write to Santaā¦
Gents,
Has anyone found a suitable metal base for this little key? Especially with possibility to order in EU.
American Morse Equipment sells nice base, but delivery to EU is 66 euros
Iāve been experimenting with different ways of mounting the key and have settled on using cheaply available on eBay & elsewhere stainless steel 75mm discs. They are available in either 0.9 or 1.2mm thickness and, most importantly, you must buy only grade 430 stainless steel if you want the magnets to stick!
I also use one with stick-on rubber feet in the shack, but its not heavy enough to key with just one hand - I need to find something heavier to stick one to.
As long as you buy 430 grade (āferriticā) stainless steel the key sticks to it really well!
Thanks for your replies.
I forgot to mention that Iām looking for a metal base specifically for a shack use. I know this key will stick to any magnetic piece of metal, but Iām having hard time finding it I think for a comfortable use it should be 500-1000g
When not in use on SOTA activity, I have mine attached to the underside of the rig. I have a small metal plate held on by a case screw and the paddle attaches to that. The plate was necessary to provide a fully flat surface to stick to. The key wobbled a bit on just the case alone. Donāt forget to reverse the polarity on the menu .
In the meantime, I have experienced two times that some snow has come on the key. This became problematic because the contacts are very openā¦ the key then continuously sends dots or dashesā¦ or both in alternation
Blowing out helped brieflyā¦ but I was glad that I still had the Palm as a reserveā¦
Same me - I written in another topic that BaMaTech Paddle does not like to cold - on first stage paddles are getting cold, on second stage low temperature brings same effect as snow: paddle start to send dashes itself.
In such situation Palm Pico is helpful (mainly made of plastic).
Another that I found in low temperature fingers must be very sensitive, if pushing onto paddles is to strong (sometimes it is caused by frozen hand) paddle may send something additional itself.
I can vouch for that, on an extremely windy and very cold GI/AH-001 yesterday at times I was struggling to get all the ducks in a row. My fingers were so cold and with absolutely no cover from the biting wind, at times it wasnāt easy to stop my fingers trembling or shivering, anyway I managed to work 22 stations in 15 minutes before the cold and wind won the battle and I went QRT and quickly packed up.